


The Auction

by thatmitchsentho



Category: Mitchsen - Fandom, Pitch Perfect
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-19
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-03-21 06:25:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13735044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatmitchsentho/pseuds/thatmitchsentho
Summary: Beca finds herself up for auction - literally - for Valentine’s Day. Initially she’s furious, but agrees. Aubrey and Chloe overhear Jesse’s plan to win the date, and knowing Beca wants nothing to do with him, they know they have to take action.





	The Auction

**Author's Note:**

> I can’t believe I forgot to post this on Valentine’s Day! Sorry guys :)

Beca Mitchell approached the radio station for her afternoon shift thinking that nothing would be out of the ordinary. But as she got to the doors she was greeted with an A3 sized image of herself, apparently promoting a WBUJ Valentine’s Day Date Auction.

She seethed. And she only got angrier the more she read.

It was auctioning off a date with her. Which she knew nothing about. And the photo happened to show her boobs off nicely, like she was some kind of homegrown foldout girl from a third rate porn magazine. She even spotted the words ‘all genders welcome’. Well that was fucking marvellous. Apparently the whole world could bid on a date with her. She ripped it down and stalked inside, making a beeline for her boss immediately.

“That’s not one of my flyers, is it?” Luke asked. “I worked hard on those. Great idea, right?”

“It’s a fucking stupid idea!” Beca said, advancing on him angrily. “Luke you can’t just do these things without asking me.”

“I didn’t think it would be a big deal,” Luke said. “You’re always talking about finding a way to raise money for a gear upgrade and this has already had a lot of interest. I knew you were free because you offered to work.”

“All genders welcome?” Beca said. “I’m a god damn lesbian, for crying out loud! All genders are very much not welcome.” Luke backed away around his desk, Beca stalking him, still furious.

“Okay, I’m beginning to sense that you’re upset,” Luke said.

“Luke!” Beca snapped. “You’re auctioning off a date with me for Valentine’s Day. Of course I’m upset! Why the fuck would I ever agree to that?!”

“Yes, Becky,” he said, clearing her throat. “A date. Not sex, not a relationship. It’s in the terms and conditions. Date. And look! Someone’s already bid four hundred dollars. Came through just before you got here.”

“What? Four hundred?” Beca said.

“Yes,” he said. “Which is a nice little sum of money since it only kicked off today.”

“Where did you even get that picture of me?” Beca asked.

“Your friend with the red hair is friends with my girlfriend,” he said. “Are you perhaps coming around to the idea?”

“No, I still fucking hate this idea,” she said. “But four hundred dollars would replace some of the shit we have kicking around here. We’re going to need to talk about the many, many ways in which you owe me for this, though.”

“I’ll move you to three shifts a week that aren’t stacking shelves,” Luke said. “Studio time, on air. Plus you can have Fridays off.”

“And part of that money will go to buying a fucking coffee machine so I don’t have to go on coffee runs every hour,” Beca bargained. “Also - I’m not making coffee for anyone but me unless I offer. And no more burger runs or taco runs. If you’re going to whore me out, I’m no longer an intern, do you hear me?”

“Deal,” Luke said. They shook hands. “I’ll email you the shift change, you don’t need to stay.”

“You don’t want me to stay now and finish up this shift?” Beca asked.

“Nah,” he said. “I’ll be right. Kind of worried you still might staple my balls to the chair.”

“You’re such an asshole,” Beca said.

“Yeah but it works for me, don’t you think?” he said with a wink. Beca rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. She had to go and find Chloe, because she’d betrayed her and she had to pay for that. She texted her.

[Hey where are you?]

Chloe ended up calling her and saying she was on her way back to her dorm and if she wanted to hang out she could come over. Beca smiled and headed for the senior’s dorm. She found Chloe lounging on her bed with music playing and she decided the best course of action would be simply to sit at her desk and stare at her.

“What?” Chloe said.

“You know what,” Beca said.

“No I don’t,” Chloe said. “You’re freaking me out.”

“Imagine how I felt when I realised this morning that my boss was auctioning off a date with me for Valentine’s Day,” Beca said. “And that the picture he’s used on all of the advertising including the Facebook page was provided by none other than yourself.”

“He said you’d agreed!” Chloe said. “How was I supposed to know?”

“I fucking knew nothing about it until I got to work and saw my face on a poster on the station door,” Beca said. “Chloe, as if I ever would have agreed to something as insane as that.”

“Oh Bec, I’m so sorry,” she said. “What are you going to do?”

“Well there have already been some bids and they’re increasing,” Beca said. “So I agreed but he’s moving me into the studio, giving me Fridays off and buying a coffee machine, and I’m no longer an intern so we’re getting square. But you also owe me big time, Beale. You just fed me to the wolves.”

“Dinner is my treat for like the next ten times,” Chloe said. “Whatever you like. Dessert included.”

“And you don’t get to ask me to watch a movie for a month,” Beca added.

“Deal,” Chloe said. “I really am sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” Aubrey asked, entering the room. Beca ran through the entire story for her.

“Oh god,” Aubrey said. “You’re being a lot more calm about this than I would be.”

“I went off at Luke but I made some demands,” Beca said. “And Chloe has offered to make amends for her role in it, so I might just be okay.”

“It’s only, what, a week?” Aubrey said.

“Yep it finishes the day before Valentine’s,” Beca said. “I mean, it’s fairly god damn mortifying that my face and my boobs are plastered all over campus for a fundraiser. God knows what my dad will say. But the station does need some gear replaced.”

“And the posters definitely say all genders welcome?” Aubrey said.

“Yeah,” Beca said. “Luke even knows I’m gay but his point was that it’s a date, not a relationship.”

“You can still say no, you know that right?” Aubrey said.

“I know,” Beca said. “And I feel like if it starts to get weird or out of control Luke will let me bail. He’s an asshole but he’s not like, that much of an asshole.”

“So is there a way that you can see who has the winning bid?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah Luke’s got a ticker on the Facebook page,” Beca said. “I can see the bids there. Well the value is on the public page and the IDs are only visible to people who admin the page.”

“Well let’s just hope that the person who wins isn’t completely creepy or disgusting,” Aubrey said.

Beca went about her week as normally as possible, given that she was being publicly auctioned off for Valentine’s Day. Her dad had been absolutely appalled until Beca sat down with him and explained everything. He wasn’t entirely convinced afterward but relented since he generally trusted Beca’s instincts. She got a little attention from other students, some teasing. But she just ignored them, she didn’t care about what they thought of her any other time of year, so she didn’t give a shit now either.

Aubrey and Chloe were grabbing coffee the afternoon before Valentine’s Day; a quick pick me up for Chloe, who had an exam that afternoon. They were sitting in a booth by the wall when two people sat down in the booth in front of them, mid conversation.

“I’ve got a plan though,” came a male voice. “To win the date with Beca.” Chloe and Aubrey recognised Jesse anywhere. Beca always complained about the boy hassling her and trying to persuade her into going out even though she wasn’t interested. Chloe grimaced and motioned that they should try and listen in.

“What’s your plan?” asked another voice. Chloe mouthed ‘Benji’ at Aubrey but didn’t speak out loud because this sounded bad and they didn’t want to get caught.

“The top bid is on the page,” Jesse said. “It finishes in just under an hour, so I’m going to bid just above that with ten minutes to go.”

“And how much is this going to cost you?” Benji asked.

“Eighteen hundred dollars,” Jesse said. “It’s almost all the cash I have but it’s worth it. Because Beca won’t have a choice but to go out with me.” Aubrey frowned at Chloe. This was definitely bad.

“It seems a bit extreme to spend that much money on a date with someone who doesn’t even like you,” Benji said. Chloe nodded in agreement.

“She just doesn’t realise it yet,” Jesse said. “I’m a nice guy, she just has to give me a chance. Once she realises how much it cost she’ll appreciate it. She’ll love me.” Aubrey jerked her head and she and Chloe snuck out of the booth and outside without being seen.

“What are we going to do?” Chloe asked. “We have to warn her.”

“She’s working, she has her phone off,” Aubrey said. “And you have an exam in fifteen minutes. I’ll take care of it. Promise.”

“If he wins that date Beca will lose her mind,” Chloe said. Aubrey nodded and Chloe hurried away.

Aubrey went back to their room and opened her laptop. She started scanning the terms and conditions to try and find a loophole that would get Beca out of this date. But there were none. There were a lot of guidelines in there that Aubrey appreciated, like Beca wasn’t required to participate in any physical exchanges other than the date itself and was protected under the student charter from doing so, and she also wasn’t expected to foot any of the cost. She kept reading but it was clear. If Jesse was the winning bidder, Beca would have to go out with him.

There was only one other move to make. The ticker at the top of the page changed and showed Jesse’s bid. She had to move fast. Eighteen hundred dollars. She had to outbid him but she remembered that it was almost all the money he had. If she bid two thousand, he might come back with two thousand and ten. It was a decent cause, she guessed. The radio station must need upgrades desperately if Beca was willing to subject herself to this. And money wasn’t a problem for her in the slightest. Her parents would ask where it went and she’d say she donated it to something, they wouldn’t ask another question.  
Five grand was literally nothing. She typed her bid and watched it tick over with three minutes to spare.

“Holy shit,” Luke said. He was at his desk while Beca was on air. He didn’t believe what he was seeing for a moment, but after a few seconds it was still there. He motioned to Beca to open the door. She double checked that she had enough music lined up and stuck her head out.

“Your auction’s over,” Luke said to her. “Last ten minutes was interesting. Jesse bid eighteen hundred.”

“Jesse?” Beca said. “Fuck. I can’t do that Luke, that dude is creepy and stalkery and I’ve had to turn him down dozens of times this year. You know what he’s been like with me. Please don’t make me go out with him.”

“Wait,” he said. “Before you start begging, let me finish the story. Then with three minutes to spare, someone bid five grand.”

“Five grand!?” Beca said. “Who?”

“It doesn’t have a name, just a grey icon and a bunch of numbers,” Luke said. “I’ll email them, get in contact and make sure it’s legit. Which I hope it is because five grand would be very helpful.”

“Wow,” Beca said. “I hope it is too but it’s more because Jesse needs to leave me the fuck alone.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” Luke said. “I’d sooner lie and tell him that another eighteen hundred dollar bid came through right before his.” He punched Beca lightly in the arm.

Jesse, however, was staring at his computer as the timer ticked down. Benji was sitting silently on his own bed, he didn’t want to say anything to Jesse right now. He kind of wanted nothing to do with this, he wasn’t even looking at the computer. He just felt weird about the whole thing.

“Someone outbid me!” he cried. “I gotta re-bid, I still have ti- Five grand?!?!”

“What?” Benji said.

“Someone just swooped in with three minutes left and dropped a five thousand dollar bid,” Jesse said. “No fucking way.” He slammed his clenched fist into the table top.

“Oh well,” Benji said. “I guess it’s not meant to be. Time to move on, Jesse.”

“What kind of college kid has five thousand dollars to waste on this?” he asked.

“How is their five grand a waste and your eighteen hundred not?” Benji asked innocently. “If they have it to spare it’s not a waste.”

“Who’s side are you on?!” Jesse said. Benji decided he’d had enough.

“Side?” Benji said, getting up. “Beca’s actually. I mean, she’s asked you to leave her alone a million times. And I’m pretty sure she’s told you she’s gay just as often. But whatever.” He headed out to leave Jesse stewing in his anger alone.

Beca finished up her shift on air and went out to Luke’s desk.

“Any clues yet?” she asked.

“I emailed the bidder,” he said. “They called me back. You’ll be pleased to know that firstly, it’s a legitimate bid, secondly, I know who they are and they’re actually quite attractive, and thirdly, it’s a woman.”

“A girl bid five grand to take me out?” Beca said. That actually made her feel kind of good about herself. “So who is it?”

“I don’t want to say,” he said. “But I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. She said she’ll pick you up here at six, and no need to dress up.”

Aubrey waited for Chloe to come back from her exam so she could fill her in. The redhead was obviously worried about Beca because she came tearing back to the room and wanted to know what was happening immediately.

“So?” Chloe said. “Did Jesse win?”

“No,” Aubrey said. “I did.”

“You did?” Chloe asked. “Wait, what?”

“Well I came back here to read through the fine print and look for some kind of loophole that would get Beca out of it,” Aubrey said. “But there were none and I was running out of time so I figured I may as well just top his bid. But I didn’t really know how much to bid because Jesse didn’t say exactly how much money he had so I sort of bid five thousand dollars anonymously and won.”

“You bid five thousand dollars?” Chloe gasped.

“I panicked,” Aubrey said. “I was running out of time and I figured it was for a decent cause and there was no way Jesse would have that kind of money and I won’t miss it so...” she shrugged.

“Are you going to tell her?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah, well it’s tomorrow so I’ll go see her soon and explain,” Aubrey said. “We can keep it casual.”

“No, don’t tell her,” Chloe said. “Surprise her when you get there. I mean, definitely explain it all, but still surprise her.”

“She won’t freak out?”

“No,” Chloe said. “If anything she’ll be grateful that it’s someone she knows.”

“Okay,” Aubrey said. She wasn’t planning on making a big fuss of this date. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Beca, she actually did like her. But if there was going to be a date between them she wanted it to not be one she paid for.

Beca waited patiently at the station from quarter to six, waiting for her date to arrive. Luke had told her more than once that she wouldn’t be disappointed and not to be nervous but she countered that she would do whatever the fuck she liked, including getting nervous about this mystery date. At a few minutes before six, Luke came to get her.

“She’s outside,” he said. Beca got up and wiped her hands on her jeans, and headed outside. She did a double take because waiting out there was Aubrey, looking equally as nervous as she did.

“Hi,” Aubrey said.

“Hi,” Beca said. “You won a date with me?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a long story,” Aubrey said. “Come on, let’s go. I’ll explain.” Beca followed her to her car, nerves immediately gone. She was relieved it was someone she knew, and kind of a little glad it was Aubrey. Aubrey was a girl. A really good looking kind of girl. Who she liked a little, if she was being honest. So this couldn’t have turned out better for her.

Aubrey had managed to get a booth at a restaurant she knew Beca liked. Restaurant was a kind of strong term. It was one of those mid-way places that was fancier than a diner but definitely not a romantic restaurant. It did serve amazingly good deluxe burgers though, and fries servings so big you could split them between two, which is what they decided to do.

“So the story?” Beca asked, after the waiter had delivered milkshakes to them.

“Chlo and I were in the coffee shop yesterday,” Aubrey began. “We overheard Benji and Jesse, and Jesse was telling him all about this plan to win the date because you keep turning him down and you just need to give him a chance.”

“Oh my god,” Beca said. “Yeah Luke told me he put a bid in.”

“He bid like, right near the end so the easiest way to make sure that you didn’t have to go on that date with him was to bid myself,” Aubrey said.

“But five grand?” Beca said.

“That was a panic bid,” Aubrey admitted. “I didn’t want Jesse to bid again. Plus I have the cash to burn, and you’re always saying you guys need new something or other down at the station.”

“Well, Aubrey, I really appreciate that,” Beca said. “Seriously. I don’t know what I would have done if Jesse had won. He actually freaks me out a little, to be honest.”

“I know he’s been trying to pressure you all year into going out on a date,” Aubrey said. “That’s why Chloe and I had to do something.”

“It’s more than that,” Beca said. “He just doesn’t hear it. I’ve probably told that guy I’m gay like twenty times. I’ve been very clear, and he just has no respect for that or me. He just says that I should give him a chance, he’s nice, he’s not like other guys. He just won’t leave me alone.”

“How serious are we talking?” Aubrey asked, noting that Beca was getting emotional about it. She realised it must be more serious than any of them had realised.

“Luke has been great, he’s rostering Jesse’s shifts when I’m not at the station so I don’t have to see him there,” Beca said. “He even said that if Jesse had won he would step in and do something. CR has had to move him along from the front of my dorm room more than once. I’m glad she lives only a couple doors down.”

“Are you worried?” Aubrey asked.

“Honestly?” Beca said. “Yeah, I am. There’s a weird kind of relentlessness about him, and I sometimes get scared that he’s not going to stop until he gets what he wants. I mean, he ever gets me alone and I’m not going to be able to put up any kind of fight.”

“We’ll come up with a plan,” Aubrey promised. “We can get the girls and you should really tell someone on the faculty. If you’re worried like that.”

“My dad knows,” Beca said. “He thinks I might be overreacting.”

“Well, I think your dad’s an idiot,” Aubrey retorted and that made Beca grin. “But let’s stop talking about Jesse, because he isn’t here.” Their eyes met.

“Thank god for that,” Beca said.

They shared their meal, long and drawn out over the evening. It wasn’t that the service was bad, they just didn’t particularly want to leave. Neither of them could choose between apple pie or cheesecake so they got both and shared, then followed it up with two cups of coffee.

“I’ve actually had a really great evening,” Beca said as they walked back to Aubrey’s car. “Much better than I envisioned when Luke sprung this whole mess on me.”

“I’m glad,” Aubrey said. “And I want to make sure that you realise I have no preconceived ideas about this being a real date. I just didn’t want you to end up with Jesse.” Beca’s heart sank a little. She kind of wanted Aubrey to think of this as a date.

“Gotcha,” she said, falling silent and choosing to sit and stare out the window on the ride back.

Aubrey was confused. They’d had a great night. Aubrey was envisioning how a real date would go between them. But now Beca was giving her the cold shoulder. As she drove she ran through what had happened since they left the restaurant. When it finally clicked, she pulled over to the side of the road.

“What are you doing?” Beca asked.

“I’m an idiot,” Aubrey said. “I said something just before and I probably picked the wrong words and made it sound like I’m against the idea of us dating.”

“Yeah, you did,” Beca said pointedly.

“Okay let me go back a bit,” Aubrey said. “This date was to save you from Jesse. But I didn’t want to pull out all the romantic stops and stuff, because I’d rather us get to have a real date to do those things on, not one that I won in a radio station auction.”

“A real date?” Beca said with a smile.

“If you’re up for it,” Aubrey said. “Friday night?”

“You know, my boss recently just gave me Fridays off,” Beca said. “I think I’d love to go on a real date with you.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven,” Aubrey said. “Dress a little fancy, it won’t be burgers this time.” She manoeuvred back out into the road and continued back to campus.

“Okay,” Beca said. “Oh. Um, I’m going to be a little presumptuous here but since you’ve asked me on a date and you’re going to pick me up... I’m not saying you have to buy me flowers but if you do, just don’t get me roses okay?”

“No roses?”

“Jesse leaves me one every Wednesday morning,” Beca said. “Benji told me it was him. Not that I needed the clue. Kinda ruined them for me.”

“Christ,” Aubrey said. “Okay, I promise, no roses.” They headed back to campus where Aubrey insisted on walking Beca back to her room just in case Jesse was waiting up there somewhere.

“Thanks for dinner,” Beca said. “I’m really looking forward to Friday.”

“Me too,” Aubrey said. “But I’ll see you tomorrow at rehearsal.” Their eyes met and Beca almost leaned up to kiss her.

“I do want to kiss you right now,” Aubrey said. “But let’s wait for our real date.”

“Okay,” Beca said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night.” Aubrey headed down the hall and back to her dorm. Five grand for a not-date with Beca Mitchell was definitely worth it in her book.


End file.
